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Friday, February 29, 2008

Julia Child's French Bread!

So, I am very excited to announce that I have become a member of an amazing group of bakers called the "Daring Bakers." Each month, I will be faced with a new challenge...probably something that I've never had the guts to attempt before...case in point - Homemade French Bread. And not just any ole' bread, but Julia Child's French Bread.

I have to admit that when I first saw this recipe - and what a whooper of a recipe! - I was pretty intimidated. After all, it took up 15 pages when I printed it. Yes, you read that correctly - 15 pages! I've made homemade sourdough bread before. In fact, that was my very first blog post a few months back. So, I thought maybe I could conquer my first Daring Baker challenge okay. It really wasn't as bad as I thought. Basically, the only ingredients are flour, yeast, salt and water. The recipe simply takes patience.

After putting it off for several weeks, I finally decided to put my apron on and start kneading last weekend. After an entire day of mixing, kneading, rising, baking, and re-reading the recipe I finally ended up with somewhat beautiful French bread. I started the process around 12pm, and I bit into my first piece of French bread yummy-ness around 11pm (yes it was late, and no we couldn't wait until the following day to try it!). I was proud of my efforts and the final product. My husband, Brad, usually isn't a bread person. But, he couldn't get enough of this stuff. I am a self-proclaimed bread girl, so I was excited to finally finish the challenge. I will admit that I was nervous though. I was worried that my entire day in the kitchen was going to be wasted if the bread wasn't any good. I anxiously watched as Brad took the first bite. After a few long seconds, he finally plastered a big smile across his face. At that point, I knew my efforts had been a success!

We love eating bread with seasoned dipping oil, so we of course had to try this bread with it. It was delish!